Three weeks ago, the Indians were talking about adding pieces to get better. That was before Sizemore, Betancourt and Cabrera went on the disabled list within four days of each other.

Now it's best to say the Indians are pondering all options.

Shapiro and Chris Antonetti, the Indians' assistant general manager, are talking to teams and trying to get a feel for which way the market is moving. If something interests them, they might jump in quickly.

Then again, the Indians were only seven games out of first place in the AL Central after Saturday's 4-2 loss to Chicago. Shapiro has been through this before and usually doesn't make a move until July.

Between working the phones, and talking trade, Shapiro is heavily involved in this week's amateur draft. The first round in Tuesday and the Indians have the 15th pick in the first round.

"It's been welcome distraction from the major league side of things," he said.

As for what injured Indians will return first, Westbrook threw a three-inning rehab game for Class AA Akron on Saturday. He allowed one hit.

The Indians feel Westbrook and Laffey (right oblique) could be back by the end of June. If so, they'd both go into the rotation.

Smith (right shoulder), the side-arming reliever the Indians acquired over the winter from the Mets, pitched a scoreless inning Friday for Class AAA Columbus. He's made four scoreless appearances, striking out six and walking one.

"He'll be here in the next couple of days," said manager Eric Wedge.

Lewis (left forearm), who started the home opener, is still throwing bullpens in Goodyear, Ariz.

Among the three injured position players, Cabrera (sprained left shoulder) might be back the fastest back. Sizemore is facing surgery on his left elbow and Betancourt (right groin) will be out four to six weeks.

"We've got a lot of banged-up guys," said Wedge. "We're just trying to hold on until we can get some of them back at the end of the month."

Decision time: Right-hander Anthony Reyes had his right elbow examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum last week, but a decision has not yet been made on whether he'll have surgery. The Indians have recommended that Reyes undergo ulnar nerve surgery on the elbow.

Nice catch: Speaking of Sizemore, Ben Francisco did a good imitation of the Gold Glove center fielder Saturday when he ran down Jayson Nix's drive to the center-field fence with a runner on in the second inning.

Clutch cargo: Carroll singled home pinch-runner Trevor Crowe from second base with two out in the seventh inning Saturday to cut Chicago's lead to 3-2. Carroll is hitting .375 (6-for-16) with runners in scoring position.

He's hitting .500 (3-for-6) with runners in scoring position on this trip.

"A lot of times hits like that could be ground outs," said Carroll. "A couple of them have snuck through this year and I'll take them."

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.